


Normal

by Shan_Kyohaku



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Daryl Dixon x Reader, F/M, Music, One Shot, Romance, daryl dixon x you - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-12
Updated: 2019-09-12
Packaged: 2020-10-16 22:34:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20610452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shan_Kyohaku/pseuds/Shan_Kyohaku
Summary: Daryl feels as if things aren’t the same now that you’re all in Alexandria. As if you no longer need him since what use to be his favorite things to find for you are all in Alexandria.





	Normal

It was stupid. It was so stupid of you to do this. Honestly, you can live without it but for some reason, you thought the opposite as well, yet here you were, standing in front of Daryl’s cell, hesitating on whether you should intrude his privacy to ask him a very stupid question. A question that could really set his opinion of you being annoying to the max. 

“You goin’ keep standin’ there or you goin’ come in already?” His gruff and annoyed voice startled you out of your ridiculous overly thought out ideas. 

You grab the drape that was in front of his cell and pull it to the side to enter. You hate yourself right now because there he was looking all annoyed and you didn’t want to be the reason for him to suddenly want to leave everyone like how he planned with his brother Merle from the start. You didn’t hear them plan it but from the way they acted towards everyone at the quarry, you had a feeling they would’ve. 

“Sorry, I was, uh, debating on wanting to ask you or not to be honest...” You say in a nervous manner. God, the way you were talking was going to further your personality trait of stupidity and all in front of an attractive man at that. Why did you have to be so awkward? 

“Ask me what?” Daryl asked as he fidgeted with the wooden arrow that he was carving. 

“Uh, well, I know you guys are going on a run tomorrow and since we’ve all settled down here and everything, I was wondering if maybe you can find me a CD player or any kind of music player really...” You said as you looked everywhere else in the room but him. You didn’t want to see the irritation on his face or worse, anger. 

Daryl didn’t say anything straight away. He only left your request unanswered which just made you nervous. Once you finally looked at his face, his previous look had not changed from when you entered. Too anxious to actually let him answer, you proceeded to talk. 

“Or, just not.” You chuckled nervously. “It’s nothing that I really need. I don’t want anything to happen to you guys over something as dumb as that.” You stepped backwards noticing that he hasn’t changed his posture, the direction his eyes were looking, the arch of his brows, anything. The only thing that changed was him not playing with his arrow anymore. Once you pulled the curtain between you and him, you let out a sigh as you walked back to your cell. 

You two didn’t have anything against each other, at least you don’t think on his side of things. He was intimidating and you were a meek person so it was natural that you two haven’t really spent much time together, even if he seemed he was starting to get along with everyone else in the group. 

Except for you. Go figure. 

But the was the one thing you had in common with him. You were both starting to feel a bond with the group. His false start was because he was stubborn, mean, and preferred to be alone. Yours was because you were quiet, shy, and always thought you would be a burden to them. Especially out there. You can hold your own. You know how to work a gun and you obviously know how to stab and cut things, as knives should do. You just weren’t as “advance” as Rick or Daryl. Honestly, you didn’t give yourself much credit but that’s just the way you are. 

Because you doubt yourself so much, it’s the reason why you don’t go on many runs, which is also the reason why you made a fool of yourself in front of Daryl just a second ago. 

You laid on your bed as you stared up at the bunk above you. Another restless night for you. You couldn’t sleep, even back then. Back then, it was only because you just couldn’t bring yourself to sleep, especially on time. You would call yourself an insomniac but that’s technically not correct. Nowadays, it’s a mix of that, nightmares, fears, anxiety, so on and so forth. That’s why you made that request to Daryl. Not only were you wanting it to help you sleep but because you haven’t heard a single tune in so long. You love music. You were one of those kinds of people. You also hoped that if you did have some songs to play, you would think that it would help brighten everyone else’s day. 

The only kind of music you get was from Beth singing to Judith but most days you were out doing chores when she does that. 

The following day seemed to be a successful day. Not only was the run short and sweet but it was filled with prizes. Food, supplies, clothes. A successful day it has been. Even for you. 

Once you were done with chores and dinner came and go, you headed back to your cell with something awaiting you on your bed. Once you got a closer look, you had the biggest smile on your face. Maybe Daryl didn’t think you were stupid for asking or maybe he did and just thought that if he did this, you could leave him alone. Either way, you were too happy to care how you look, you just knew you had to thank him for being thoughtful when he went out. 

As you stood there in the same position as yesterday night, you fought with yourself again about the same thing but before you could stop overthinking to actually alert and enter his cell, Daryl had beat you to it. 

“You can come in...” He said in a somewhat irritated voice. Damn. There goes not looking stupid out the window. You immediately went in as to not keep him waiting. 

“Uh, hi, again. Um...” It was like déjà vu, you noticed, as you were tripping over your words and he was seated in the same way on his bed like yesterday. “I just wanted to say thanks...For the CD Player a-and the songs, the CD’s I mean,” You flinched at your stutter hoping that Daryl didn’t notice. You didn’t know why but you were a lot more nervous now than yesterday. It was silent again as this déjà vu continued on and so you tried to take your leave until Daryl actually spoke up. 

“I, uh, didn’t know what kind of music ya liked...So I just took all that I could find...” He sounded gentle and nervous as well which only you brought you comfort. “Sorry if it ain’t none ya like...” He looked away from you to his fumbling hands. You just turned and smile at him for his demeanor and thoughtfulness made you happy. 

“It doesn’t matter, I mean, what I like. I really appreciate what you got me. Honestly, I’ll listen to whatever at this point...I just needed something to listen to. I’ll learn to love them all.” His bashful blue eyes took a peek at you and nodded to let you know he understood what you meant. You only smiled again and headed out of Daryl’s cell but once you rounded the corner, he called out to you. 

You peeked your head to see what Daryl needed. He was sitting upright looking at you with curious eyes that never seemed to stay on you long. “Uh, I picked up a Skid Row CD when I found ‘em...Was wonderin’ if I could give it a listen sometime...” He. Is. Adorable. So timid when he asked, it only made you smile bigger than before and it made you feel less intimidated of him. 

“Yeah, of course! Whenever you wanna use it. If you want, we can, you know, relax and listen together if you want.” You shrugged at the suggestion hoping that this could help be more interactive with him. Daryl hesitated for a second before nodding his head in agreement. 

From there, you walked out feeling much more satisfied than when you received your special gift at the beginning. 

At first, nothing had changed between you and Daryl and he never came by to ask to borrow your CD player and so you thought that whatever it was that happened was a fluke, that he was only trying to be nice and so eventually, you both went back to the way you use to be. Not talking. Were you shocked? Not really. Were you upset? A bit but it’s not something to dwell on. Daryl was usually quiet and so were you so it was obvious that neither of you would do anything about that. 

At least that’s what you thought because after about a week or more, Daryl was waiting by your cell with one hand tucked under his arm and the thumb of his other hand in between his teeth. Obviously, he was a bit nervous but you didn’t think much of that, you only thought of what it is that he wanted. 

“Hey.” You said from behind which caused Daryl to get startled and whip around to see who was calling him. He was tense and had his hands in his pockets now. “What’s going on?” There was a frown of worried curiosity that covered your face as you felt your heart race and your legs prepare to run in case he was going to tell you that you all needed to leave. 

“Uh, nothin’. Was kinda wonderin’ if maybe I’m still able to listen to some music is all.” That took you by surprise. At first you were upset that he didn’t ask earlier in the week, then you scold yourself for expecting him too when he was obviously busy trying to keep everyone alive and then soon enough you forgot that it was something he wanted to do. 

“Oh! Yeah, right. Let me just...” Soon you swiped pass him and into your cell, retrieving what he wanted and then met back with him face to face. “Here you go. You said Skid Row, right?” 

“Yeah, thanks.” He said as he looked at the stomped-up CD case that was cracked with pieces of the plastic missing. He only took a moment to look at it before he turned around beginning to walk away from you. Oh well. This was the most you two interacted this week than the entire time you knew him. Right when you were about to walk into your cell, you heard him call out to you. 

“Hey Y/N.” You came back out to take a curious peek and see him walk back to you. “I was thinkin’... Maybe I can listen to it in your room?” You blinked your eyes in shock of his question. You weren’t actually expecting him to want to do that. He was so closed off and reserved, it was just an actual surprise to you. 

It was easy for Daryl to ask as you can plainly see because you can see him shifting his weight from foot to foot and was chewing up his thumb as he looked down at his boots. You snapped yourself out of it and replied instantly. “U-uh, Yeah! Sure, come on in...” You lead him in. 

You went to seat yourself on your bed you turned to see how Daryl was clearly feeling out of place as he only stood by the entryway of your cell with very little of an idea as to what to do. “Oh, uh, you can just sit here on my bed if you want.” 

“Nah, I’ll just sit here.” He took a seat on the ground with his back against the wall that was across from you. Daryl then placed the CD into the player and put on the earbuds that luckily came with it when he found them. The music blasted into his ears and he realized how long it’s been since he’s listened to anything in a good while. With his eyes shut and his head leaned back against the wall. You had no idea what to do at that point, you felt awkward in your own space and all you did was dart your eyes across the room. Soon enough, they landed on the book that you started reading a little bit ago and went to read instead. 

When a good chunk of time had passed, Daryl opened his eyes not realizing that he gave himself a good little nap. When he raised his head, he only seen you looking down at your lap with your head on your hand reading the page that was in between your fingers, readying yourself to turn the page. He sat up and cleared his throat to gain your attention. 

Looking up, you see his blue eyes on you with him taking the earbuds off. He wrapped them and stood up, handing them to you. You only looked at him with a questioning look until he explained. “I got watch duty.” You grabbed the set and watched him walk off until he turned around again. “Sorry if this ain’t what you were wantin’.” 

“N-no, it’s alright, I mean, I don’t mind this if this what you want to do.” You made sure to let him know. He only nodded and gave his thanks before leaving your cell. He was right, it wasn’t what you wanted. You wanted to start a conversation with him, befriend him, get to know him and all that other stuff but as you noticed how he fell asleep, you only smiled and read as you were happy that at least he was here spending his company with you and you realized that with the way he is, he was putting in his effort and that it was gonna take awhile for him to really become your friend. 

You were just happy that there was someone that you suddenly want to put the effort into talking to in so long. 

.~.~.~.~.~. 

To your wonderful surprise, it suddenly became routine for Daryl to come by your cell whenever he had some free time to listen to music. It was the same songs over and over again and he didn't mind it all that much. 

At first, it was the same way the first meeting had gone, then it became you sitting next to him to read, that soon turned into you sitting next to him reading with one earbud in your ear and the other in his, then it shifted the location to your bed with some words exchanged between the both of you and then finally it became you ditching your book, lying down next to him either in a comfortable silence or with the both of you talking freely like never before. 

You were happy because as long as it took, it was worth the wait to finally feel as if you had someone in your corner. 

It felt good to be one of the few people who got to see Daryl's soft side. Every time he came by to your cell, he would either give you little trinkets or gifts that he found on his time outside the prison or find you new discs to listen to. What got you the most in awe with him was whenever he did find you new music, he always told you how he hoped you'd like the one he found. Even nicer than that were the times he'd let you know he didn't find anything that you would like. Since he was the one finding all these gifts for you, you figured that he was unintentionally showing you his music taste and most of them were eighties bands which you didn't mind at all. 

All though that was all rainbows and butterflies in your book, what made you really go heart eyes for him is how you two became closer physically which is honestly a something you didn't expect from him. It went from shoulder to shoulder, thigh to thigh, a head on his shoulder when you fell for a nap to his head on your lap for the same reason. A hand on top of his without him pulling away to him actually holding yours casually with his fingers pattering away against yours. That was beginning to be your favorite of physical contacts with him. Honestly, you couldn’t believe it was you he was doing this with. But there was a problem with all of this. You were starting to like him a little more than you care to admit and all of these touches were starting some strange circus acts inside your stomach and heart. 

What didn’t help was the fact that there had been a couple close calls from time to time to which you were only grateful that they happened. You could imagine the scenarios played out and those were helping you get to sleep along with your music. It was also nice of Daryl not to act weird towards you after them as you thought he might do. 

They were moments where everything goes silent after an intimate talk and you find yourselves either looking at your clasped hands or at his lips or, if you were brave enough, his eyes and it always felt like something was about to happen. Obviously, nothing did happen but you couldn’t help but let your imagination go from time to time. 

Things changed though. You would say they changed for the better. 

It was a small run. Nothing that needed more than two people. As Daryl being Daryl, he always volunteered to go but what was different this time was that he asked you to come along with him. It shocked you honestly as there were far more capable people to go along which you made sure to let Daryl know. You even told him that you may be rusty from not being out there in a good while to which he replied that you going out there now would grease you up. 

So, you agreed. How could you say no to that man? 

It was a small run to a house that Rick saw on the way back. That was it. You expected the worst because that’s how you survive. Expect the worse and you can anticipate and plan your time out in the walker's territory. It was still a shock to see that walker in the bedroom to which you easily killed. You've seen them every day clearing them away from the fences but there wasn't a fence between you and this walker in front of you. It was still a shock to feel a walker grab onto you after killing the one you found before it. It never gets easier when you feel their weight on top of you with their teeth chopping the air. The feeling of fear surging through you with your mind going blank of any thoughts except kill. It was still a shock to feel it immediately go limp right on top of you as you felt it’s head thump right on the crook of your neck with its blood oozing out slowly down to the back of your neck to your collarbone and it was still a shock to know that you made it out of there alive. 

To add on to the list of things that shocked you was the immediate attention Daryl gave you right after, with him on his knees in front of you and his hands on your cheeks as he looked into your eyes telling you that you were okay. You then noticed his eyes scanning all over your body asking if you were okay for sure and if you were bit. Once his eyes landed on the small puddle of blood on your neck, he panicked only for you to hold your hands against his and assure him it was the walkers. It shocked you how tight he hugged you after you said that. How he couldn't let go with his hand on the back of your head pulling as close as humanly possible. The feeling of arms wrapped around you as you didn't know what to do with yourself except lightly hold on to him. Before you could hug yourself harder against him, he lets go saying how it was time for them pack up and leave before sunset began. 

The drive home was quiet as the tension of the close call from earlier occupied both of your minds. As soon as Daryl noticed how even more quiet you were with him, he placed his hand on top of yours, you instinctively clasped onto his hand with your fingers intertwined. You kept looking out the window as Daryl kept glancing at you in fear that maybe you'd disappear if he didn't check on you. 

Once Daryl pulled in to the prison and helped with getting the small number of items inside, he came back out to find you sitting on the hood of the car looking up at the moon and stars. Glenn asked if there was something wrong to which Daryl only told him to give you and himself a minute alone. 

You noticed him get inside the car and start it back up, the way it rumbled underneath you startled you. As he made his way to take a seat next to you, you only raised an eyebrow until you heard some soft music playing behind you. You just looked straight ahead in order for you to get lost in thought once again. 

"You doin' alright?" He finally asked. 

"Yeah...Just thinking, really..." 

"About?" He fiddled with his thumbs in between his fingers. 

"Obviously of what just happened but...also other stuff in general." 

"Like what?" You only shrugged at his question, not really knowing yourself. "'s alright. You don't gotta talk about it." He shrugged as well looking down at his beat-up dirty boots. 

"No, it's nothing like that. When I figure it out, I'll tell you. Honestly, at this point, there isn't anything that's a secret anymore between you and me." You wanted to make sure he knew that you weren't trying to push him away or keep things from him. You two have come too far to suddenly shut down. 

"That right?" He looked back up at you. His eyes looked like they were glistening under the pale moonlight. It was honestly mesmerizing and if you could, you would stare at them for hours waiting to see what your future would be like if you did, as if they were a crystal ball. But you didn't as you looked down to now be the one to reach out and hold his hand. 

"Yeah. As hard as it is to believe, I... I trust you. Wholly and completely." You then laid your head on his shoulder with your eyes feeling heavy as the events of the day finally weighed down on you. 

"Me too. I know I haven't told anyone everythin' 'bout me but I know that when I do, it's gonna be you I tell." With your head rising back up, your eyes immediately went to Daryl's and his were on yours as he wanted to make sure you saw how serious he was being. You just smiled as you leaned in for a quick kiss on his cheek. Never have you felt this deeply for another person and never have you felt that someone else would care for you this much in your lifetime. 

He didn't look away. He didn't try to go ahead and bite his thumb like he usually does when he's nervous. The only thing he did was continue to look at you and you suddenly felt as if you done something wrong. Never had you two done anything like that before and there must be a reason for it if he's reacting this way. But like every time you start to overthink, Daryl begins to act out his actions before you could pull away and do so yourself. 

His finger and thumb found themselves holding your cheek pulling to him but not roughly enough to where you could really feel him pinch your cheeks. It was in that moment that you didn't want to be anywhere else but here as he kissed you deeply, his lips moving to give you such innocent pleasure that you longed for. All of the emotion that he had in him from before and the ones from earlier on were put into that kiss. The longing, the patience, the worry, the relief, all of it he made sure you felt as he kept on kissing you in a way you didn't think a first kiss with Daryl would go. You imagined it to be soft, slow and in place but right now it was a bit rough in the sense that if he went in soft, he wouldn't be able to evoke all that he was feeling. It was at a faster pace but not much where it felt he was ready to take you right there and then (although you wouldn't have mind that). He wasn't giving you quick or long pecks, his lips moved as if he were soothing them from an ache. Either your bottom or top lip was always in between his and never had you felt this good. 

Once he pulled away, you were both out of breath. It was unbelievable. One day you thought he didn't like you at all, the next, it was if he never wanted you to leave his side again. "Wow..." You blinked the sudden daze away. 

"Sorry..." He pulled away quick as he looked down in a shy manner. Never had you looked at someone with pure adortion. Your hands went to take his cheeks as to pull his eyes to look at you. 

"Hey, it's alright..." He only peeked at you, frightened of your reaction. You lifted his head up to look at him with a smile on his face. You gave him a peck on his lips to assure him you were fine with what he did and wrapped your arms around him in a hug. He reciprocated the hug, burying his head into your shoulder. 

.~.~.~.~.~. 

From there you two were now an item. Being that the both of you were shy in nature, you didn't show signs that you were together but you did spend more time with each other than before. No one really noticed at first but they soon caught on and understood. 

The both of you spent a lot of time being affectionate with one another in the privacy of your cell. Like before, you two would listen to music together but it felt as if you were teenagers staring at the ceiling and talking throughout the night. Daryl would always bring you back more music to listen to it and it seemed to become the norm. 

There was routine, there was a life and then the prison had fallen. 

From there, it felt as if all was lost but you were with Daryl and things didn't seem all that bad. You both lost all of what you gained and Daryl felt awful about it. Your lives were set there and it was all gone. All that you built. He was even starting to think of a future with you in that romantical sense. 

Soon enough Alexandria was found and although everyone was on edge from what happened previous, things began to settle down. Everyone began to feel at ease here including yourself. 

But not Daryl. 

Daryl still felt distrustful. He still felt scared. He still felt as if all wasn't well and he didn't like the fact that everyone felt the opposite, especially you. 

Today was one of those days that he felt those emotions come on strong. Daryl headed out on a run to let some steam out and to not feel so claustrophobic in those walls. You stayed behind this time to take on the job of babysitting duty while Rick and Michonne went out on patrol. 

The run was a simple in and out to the nearest town. Luckily, there weren't too many walkers roaming around as they took to the nearest forests and roads. Supplies were gathered and everyone was packing up to head back to Alexandria. Daryl wasn't all too ready to head back. He still felt nervous going back to that place so when he was heading back to get on his bike, he took sight of a small electronics shop to which he could only nod his head and give a smirk. Should he? To hell with it, he already made up his mind. If anything, it would be like old times, that and he needed something to feel like home, to feel like something was normal, or as normal as he wanted it to be. Before he headed in, he made sure to tell Tara that he'll be behind them, all he needed was to grab one thing. Tara could only smile as she knew that whatever it was, it had to be for you. 

.~.~.~.~. 

When the gates open, you headed out to the front porch and peek at who was there. To your relief it was the gang that went out on a run earlier in the day. With Judith at your hip, you headed out to the front of the gates, ready to give Daryl a small hug to reassure yourself that he was there but once you did, you didn’t catch sight of his bike or him himself. You were ready to panic. What happened? Once you saw everyone else, you noticed that they didn’t have a solemn look, if anything, they were normal and relaxed. 

“Hey, Glenn...” Turning around to your voice, Glenn just gave you a smile. “Where’s-” 

“Oh! Daryl! Right, he just needed to pick up something back at our run. Said he’d be behind us.” You nodded at his response, not really feeling at ease about that. It worried you that he was out there on his own but you knew that he can take care of himself, he’s been out on his own plenty of times. “To be honest with you, I don’t think he’s warming up to the place as much as us.” 

“Yeah, I’ve been noticing that too but he doesn’t want to talk about it.” You looked down as you felt a bit sad about the situation. You knew Daryl wasn’t feeling all that great and you also knew not to push him into talking about it, knowing that when he’s ready, he will. That was always how it worked with the both of you and it always seemed to work. You were worried that this time wouldn’t be the case, especially since he’s out there on his own when he had a group with him earlier. 

You went back to the shared house where Carl is ready to take Judith in his hands. It was a good opportunity for you to sit and worry in the room that was given to you. You were scared. No matter how many times you tell yourself that Daryl would be fine, that this would be a walk in the park for him, it never made the sickening feeling in your stomach lessen. 

Your heart went into a complete rush when you heard a knock on the door and you were afraid to hear some news that would send you into absolute breakdown. You only reached out to wrap your arms around Daryl’s neck holding him tight. “Jesus, thank god...” Daryl only wrapped his full hands on your hips a bit confused at your reaction. 

“You alright? Somethin’ happen?” Now it was his turn to worry. He knew this place was too good to be true. 

“No, no. I was just scared when I didn’t see you back with the others.” You pulled away from him. “What’s that?” You asked as you finally took noticed of the bag in his hands. 

Daryl only shrugged and shyly handed you the bag. “Saw this store right before we left. Thought I check it out.” You opened it up, taking the items out and laying them on your bed. You could only smile at his gifts for you. 

“Daryl, you didn’t have to...” A shrug was all you got. You took notice of one of the CD’s that were in the pile. One from Kansas. “I think we have this one downstairs...” You kept looking through all of them until you see Daryl grab the bag and stuff all of the CD’s in them. “Daryl, what are you...” 

“Seem like you got what you need downstairs, huh? I don’t know why you gotta keep these then.” 

“Daryl, No.” You reach out to grab his arm only for him to pull away. 

“Nah, I get it. You don’t need shit from me. You got everything you want here so I don’t see what’s the point of me bein’ here!” He was about to walk out the door, turning the knob until you slammed your hand against the door. 

“Daryl! Stop!” He did as you demanded not fighting against you. “Look at me please...” Taking a peek through his hair, scared of your reaction now that he was able think some things through. “YOu have to tell me what’s wrong. I don’t want you suddenly going off on your own angry and then have something happen to you. I can’t have you be out there when you could be here with me talking about whatever’s bothering you. I don’t want you feeling alone and angry.” 

He only stood there quiet looking down at his boots like a child in trouble. “I know. You don’t like talking about your feelings but you somehow always do with me and I’m scared maybe you’re feeling a lot worse than any other time or maybe that you can’t talk to me about these kinds of things anymore. That maybe I’m not the go-to for you anymore.” 

Instantly Daryl nodded his no being vocal about it as well. His thumb was up to his teeth as he couldn’t help chew on it. “Nah, that ain’t it. That’ll never be it.” You could only look at him and him at you. “Don’t ever think like that. It’s just... I don’t know. This place, Terminus, I just...” His head went back to the direction of the ground. All you did was wrap your arms around him knowing how hard it is for him to express what he wanted to say. 

You spared him from pushing himself too hard as you told him you understood what he meant, what he was feeling, how you felt the same and how it was ok for him to feel this way, “I know you’re scared. I’m scared too. This place seems too good and either they’ll turn on us or those walkers get in, I don’t know but we’re all still together...” He only buried his head into your neck as he held onto your waist tighter. 

“I get that you think we’re thinking nothing of it, that we’re pretending everything’s normal and wonderful here but we’re only trying to make the best of what we have right now.” You stroked his hair to sooth him. “If this place is as great as we want to believe, then I want it to be better with you here. You wIth me.” Daryl pulls his head back to look at you. “You know I care about you right?” He nods his head, making him look far much smaller compared to your first impression of him. held onto his face, stroking his cheek with your thumb. You hate seeing him like this but it also made you feel special that it was only you that he showed this side to. That he still had trust in you. “Then you know how much I hate seeing you like this?” He nods again slowly. 

“I just can’t. This place, it don’t feel like home, it don’t feel like they need me. I belong out there, where I know better, not some place where they throw parties whenever and pretend like we can share cookin’ recipes and shit. That ain’’t me...” 

“It’s not me, either. We’ve been through too much to pretend but know that we’re not.” You grab onto his hands, slipping the bag into yours and placing a hand on his shoulder, leading him to the bed. “Lay down.” Daryl did as he was told without complaint and stared up to the ceiling. The corner of his eyes had tears to which you wiped them away and kissed his forehead. From there, you laid next to him. He didn’t notice you were doing much until you tapped his shoulder to offer him an earbud. Head on his shoulder with his on top of yours, you both laid there holding hands. This was what Daryl wanted, to feel as if things hadn’t changed. They never did. All that did change was where they were and the new people they’ve encountered with new experiences to add to their list. Things haven’t changed, not when he was laying beside you doing your favorite pass time together. Right now, he didn’t feel angry, anxious, worried or scared. He felt as if he is at home and maybe that future that he was thinking up before can be a reality.


End file.
